Apple eyes long-term software fix for watch while appealing ban
Summary
The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant won a temporary reprieve from a federal appeals court Wednesday, two months after the US International Trade Commission ruled the smartwatches infringed patents held by medical-device maker Masimo Corp.—and one day after the device’s US sales halted. Apple’s plans for a comprehensive solution to the patent fight also include redeveloped software now submitted to a US customs agency that could allow it to sell noninfringing versions of the devices as soon as Jan. 12, all while continuing to appeal the ITC loss. A Christmas Day deadline passed without the Biden administration vetoing the ITC’s orders after its late-October finding that certain Apple Watch models infringe Masimo’s patents. A stay of the ITC’s orders for the appeal’s duration, if granted, would likely take longer than Apple often does to develop and release next generations of its devices—even as the company continues to fight for the viability of the banned products. A forced automatic download of a software patch disabling the pulse-oximetry feature, he said, might provide Apple a path to re-activate the technology should it win its appeal.
Classifications
AskAI Classifications
LabelsLinked Companies
